we begin this morning with a house divided. 26 house republicans sided with democrats in a surprising rejection of proposed extensions of the nation's anti-terrorism patriot act dealing the house-led gop with unexpected rankses. tracie potts joins us with more on that. trac tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. there are three key pate trok acts set to expire, one at the end of this month. one, the wire taps by the government, the other one referred to as the library provision allows the fbi to search library records in a terror investigation and allows for the secret surveillance to non-u.s. citizens linked to terrorist groups. the house has tried to extend this, but fell seven votes short apparently by a slip-up of the republican majority, the leadership. they fast-tracked this legislation, which meant they needed a two-third majority to pass it, but 26 republican, including tea party members, sided be democrats against it. supporters say it's key to prevent a terror attack, but those against it say this is a huge government intervention at the house and the senate don't agree by the end of the month, those will expire. for the nation's midsection already braised by this winter season, brace yourself, there's more on the way. we go to jay gray. he's in oklahoma city for us. jay, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lip. you're right. the brutal hit to the southern plains continues this morning. blowing snow, it's going to continue for hours here. they're expecting here in oklahoma city 8 to 12 inches, and there are similar scenes playing out across the nation's midsection this morning, this after an earlier round of snow that brought double digit snow levels and ice to this area just a week ago. just as they're beginning to recover, now another brutal storm, lynn, and this is something that they have been fighting with, as you said, throughout the winter. again, everything shut down here in oklahoma city except only the vital necessities. we've seen one plow this morning. of course, it's very early. that will continue through the day as they fight this winter weather. lynn? >> jay, thanks so much. of course, bill karins will have more on that coming up. well, after a weekend lull and 16 days into the political crisis, they've returned to tahrir square. helping to ignite the demonstration yesterday was a young google executive. he made his mafirst appearance the main square after being 12 days in detention. the newly appointed vice president omar seouleiman warne protesters, quote, there must be an end to this crisis as soon as possible. meanwhile the nation of australia has been crippled by a series of catastrophes in the wake of deadly floods, devastating wildfires, and just last week a category 5 cyclone. we witnessed a rare display of emotion from australia's prime minister yesterday when she presented parliament with an australian flag recovered from the floodwaters and given to her by rescue workers. >> it was recovered from the area of murphy's creek by the crew of a defense force helicopter. these helicopters continues with their search and rescue in the days to come and they found this flag, mr. speaker. and i was honored when they gave it to me. it was muddy, and it was soaking wet. and they did so because it was a powerful symbol for them of what it means to face the elements, of what it means to be heard, of what it means to endure, of what it means to be australian. i spoke to them of courage, it the courage it takes to hold your mood in the dark as the cyclone races around you, the courage it takes to tell your children to run across the railway line knowing it's dangerous, knowing they could fall, but knowing it's their only hope of getting to safety. the courage it takes for a young boy, 13-year-old jordan rice to say to his rescuers, take my brother first and before they could return, jordan and mum donna were taken by the flood. but the legend of jordan's amazing courage will go on. >> that was the prime minister addressing that country's parliament. and here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in california, dramatic cell phone footage of a truck driving the wrong way. the 83-year-old driver went against traffic on interstate 5 until he ran out of road, slamming into a guardrail there. the impact nearly tore the vehicle in half. the driver sustained no serious injuries. >> in new york the police are seeking the public's health to catch a brazen gunman. he hit a woman with a gun in her arm and back. fire balls shot into the sky as firefighters fought the manic blaze. they shut down traffic on the nearby highway before they decided to let it burn out. the cause is unknown. in mississippi, three people are dead after a tractor-trailer collided with two school buses. the accident occurred when the big rig sideswiped with one of the drivers and struck a bus head on. it took the lives of the truck driver and two teachers and injured students. they're trying to hook up a couple of koala bears. they want abbie and oz to meat. an intimate dinner has been set. take notes, guys. well, now for a look at your national weather we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, are you wright it down? >> why are they separating them? whatever happened to -- >> then you're all excited. >> you open the car door. >> with that opposable thumb that comes in so handy? >> very good, lynn. let's talk about the winter weather. it's not fun. before we head over a foot of snow falling in kansas. now the snow is really picking up around oklahoma city. winter storm warnings extend to little rock, northern l.a. this is a summer special. we're going to get this weather into nashville, memphis and even north carolina, the raleigh area. anyone driving in kansas and oklahoma, you're going to have snow-covered roads and now that snow is starting to creep down into the dallas-ft. worth area. so that commute won't be fun. here's a closer look at the radar. the white is all snow. the blue inside the white is moderate to heavy snow. southward down to wichita falls and as we look to the north, probably the worst of it is going to be interstate 40 in oklahoma city, heading up to little rock. and the ozarks, of course, the hire elevation, it will be bad. how much snow have we had? about a foot on the ground. it could include tulsa, oklahoma city, over toward little rock, probably 5 to 7 inches in that area. notice dallas, louisiana, a little less for you. atlanta, an inch or so. eastern carolina, 2 or 3 inches east of raleigh. this is your month, already 13 inches of snow. all we need 7 more inches in and break the record set in march 1911. this is the path of the storm, lynn. we'll see that going down along the gulf and out to sea. lynn, i know everyone is complaining how cold it is from the great lakes all the way to the northeast, but that cold air is saving us. that cold air is keeping this storm to the south, and that's why new york and d.c. and chicago are not getting this storm. >> a little nugget of good news for us, thanks. >> i'm sure you'll be thanking, thanks, bill, that's great. the toyota verdict is in, an ipad update is in the works, and the catholic church sanctions an app to deal with your sins. your early morning headlines are next. lebron turns up the heat. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. winter can be beautiful. [ female announcer ] and now, winter skin can be too. discover relief from dry, uncomfortable skin with skin relief moisturizing lotion. only aveeno has an active naturals triple oat and shea butter formula that soothes, nourishes and restores moisture. women saw improvement in all five symptoms of winter skin in just one day. beauty you can see and feel. that's being comfortable in your own skin. aveeno skin relief. and now get dermatologist recommended relief from severely dry skin with eczema therapy. new from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals new from aveeno. to stay fit, you might also want to try lifting one of these. a unique sea salt added to over 40 campbell's condensed soups. it helps us reduce sodium, but not flavor. so do a few lifts. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ look." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of the top stories making news this morning. the obama administration has suspended some high-level contacts with pakistan and may downgrade the status of an upcoming meeting. they may pressure pakistan to release an american diplomat who's been detained since he killed two pakistanis last month. washington says he shot them in self-defense as they tried to rob him at gunpoint. michelle obama says president obama has given up his smoking habit. later she'll be on the "today" show marking the first anniversary of her campaign to end child obesity. this is dramatic video inside a bus showing the terrifying moments when the packed vehicle collided with a truck. 18 people were hurt in the crash, but officials say it's just incredible no one was killed. and a new poll weighs in. what super power americans would love to have. topping the list are time travel, mind reading, flying came in third followed by the about to teleport and be investable. no jeddi hand trick. the dow opens at 12,233 after gaining 71 points. the s&p inched up 5 points and the nasdaq gained 13. in tokyo the nikkei shed 18 points while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 320. well, toyota officials are breathing a sigh of relief after a 10-month federal investigation concluded that faulty electronics did not cause toyota vehicles to accelerate out of control. the federal probe confirmed toyota's own findings for which it's already recalled 8 million toyota and lexus cars, fixing sticky gas pedals or improperly fitted floor mats blaming toyota for sudden acceleration. its longest winning streak since july. china's not so surprising interest rate hike to keep inflation in check had little impact on stocks. traders also shrugged off the latest data, showing fewer jobs for the second straight month in december. mcdonald's lead the gains. avon shares lost 3% after the cosmetics company reported a troubling drop in quarterly profit. disney shares shot up after the bell thanks to an uptick in traffic at its theme parks. sara lee says expect to see higher prices for its namesake desserts. they blame the rising cost in ingredients for lackluster quarterly earnings. "the wall street journal" reports an updated apple ipad is already in the works. the new ipad is quicker, thinnering and has a front-facing catholic. are you a text savvy catholic overwhelmed by the confession process? apparently there's an app for that. confession, vatican approved step-by-step guide offers a personalized examination of conscience for each user. well, in health news this morning in a finding that challenges early guidelines for early breast cancer treatment, new research shows that patients who underwent extensive surgery to remove all their lymph nodes faired no better than those who had only a few removed. removed them would help avoid complications such as infection, swelling and shoulder pain and for more on this and other health story use can check out the health page on msnbc.com. another love double-double, the grizzlies go extra, and titletown celebrates. lebron is so hot even his teammates stay out of his way. your sports are straight ahead. ♪ in here, inventory can be taught to learn... so products get routed to where they're needed most. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... so they can tell headquarters when they need refilling. ♪ in here, money works smarter... so financial institutions can turn dreams into realities. in here, medical history is brought to life... so doctors can see a patient's medical records -- even if they're away from home. it's more than advanced technology. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. over here! put your roots in reverse. with root touch-up, by nice 'n easy. it extends the life of your color in 10 minutes with a seamless match to any brand -- guaranteed! roots are outta there. with root touch-up by nice 'n easy. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry, and in sports the miami heat have played in phases, but currently lebron james and his teammates are smoking. here's fred roggin. last night they were minutes away from doing it again, but lebron james and company weren't having it. funny moment in the first when he drove to the basket. his shot was blocked, but lebron was there to throw it down. he was all right. he hit i it and hit almost every shot he took. 26 at the half. they increase their pace at the third. running the floor like a point guard. at one point the pacers were up by 14, but sim lot not enough. late in if fourth, he finished with 41 and the heat rallied to win. dwight howard with an alley-oop against the clippers. magic pulled away in the fourth quarter. gilbert arenas sliced through the defense and got the layup to fall. they won nine in a row. he set a new team record with a consecutive double-double. 20 of 14 against the rockets. nailed the three late in the fourth to seal it. minnesota won it 112-108. they tied. he missed three. james hardin got the rebound, but couldn't hit the layup and we're headed to o.t. grizzly sounds the thunder, 105-101. finally fans pack lambeau field to celebrate the super bowl wind. it caps off a party that's been going on since sunday night in green bay bay. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with another look at the forecast. >> lynn, i can almost promise you and everyone waking up today may be the coldest morning we're going to have from here on out because this is a very cold morning. not going to be happy when you get outside with the windchills, but we get to that time of year when the cold outbreaks won't be ads strong. 9 is the temperature in albany. the temperatures are in the teens from the northeast to the mid-atlantic. now, the windchill is what really will get your attention. zero in boston, negative windchills in albany all the way through northern new england. even new york city has a windchill of 4. philadelphia at 8 and d.c. at 8. it's a cold morning for you and the kids and anyone at the bus stop. today we're not going to get to 32 north of baltimore. d.c. should be around 36, but everyone is going to see a frigid wednesday. thursday is looking very cold. at least the sun is going to be out both days. we notice the sun is not setting until later in the day, 5:00, 5:30 in some cases. 28 for your high tomorrow. as we go through the week, we warm things up. on friday, say in new york, we go to 35 for a high. saturday and sunday, we're back up into the upper 30s and even into the 40s. that's the same story for boston and d.c. so in other words, this is the worst of it. it's really cold back in the central plains. look at the windchill in denver, minus 22. the forecast today across much of the country, lynn, it's a very, very cold winter day. coming up, couples busting up and kim kardashian gets kicked off stage. plus, she's in trouble again, and this time it's more serious than any legal problem she's had before. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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[ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. of all the places you look when you need new ideas for dinner, it's time to discover the best place of all. go to campbellskitchen.com. where you'll find hundreds of fresh recipe ideas, made with the brands you love. make campbell's kitchen part of your kitchen. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. later today l.a. prosecutors will charge lindsay lohan with felony grand theft. she stands accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store last month. the most serious count against her after trouble with the law. lohan remains on probation in another case and that judge threatened to jail her if she ran into trouble again. elsewhere, people reports jude law and sienna miller have broken up yet again. this time, however, friends say it's for good. wilde separates from her prince. kim kardashian may be the ultima ultimate exhi biggsist. invited to dance on stage with prince he quickly asked her to leave because of lack of move moont. they offered christina aguilera a "national anthem" do-over. it's a genius idea. >> she should walk away from it. >> i think everyone else wants to talk about it. it was a mistake. she's a good singer leave her alone. >> she's a great singer. >> stop giving her a hard time. i'm lynn berry with "first look." stay tuned. president obama is going to have house republican leaders over to the wows for a little soup and salad this afternoon to iron out their differences even though they promised to defund the president's health care law. the question is will he be able to to step out in the garden and rip butts. it will be tough. just when it looked like things were cooling off, the size of the demonstration swelling today. the question is how long can